Business transactions are all about the exchange of goods and services. When a business enters into an agreement with another party, it expects to gain equal or better trade. No organization will enter a contract just to experience loss. To prevent potential loss from happening, business enterprise implements different softwares to help in managing external agreements and drafting contracts. CPQ and CLM are the ideal systems to make every business deal as efficient and productive as possible. Combining contracting skills with CPQ and CLM can help businesses in having a stable ground in every stage of the contract life cycle.
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What is a CPQ tool?
A CPQ tool is a software designed to increase both sales and productivity. It provides product options and prices based on predetermined specifications, giving the best possible quote for the products and services being offered. CPQ tools not only boost sales by providing accurate pricing, but also help in contract management by giving the best quote during the drafting and negotiating phases of the contract lifecycle. Prices and quotes provided by a CPQ tool are set according to a predetermined set of rules that takes into consideration the quantity of the account, customization, discounts, optional features, type of revenues, and incompatibilities.
What is the full form of CPQ?
CPQ stands for Configure, Price, Quote. Like what the name implies, CPQ softwares helps businesses in providing personalized quotes to its clients based on specific configuration of the product/service offering and pricing structures. By fully automating these three processes, business can prevent clerical errors due to computation and research mistakes.
Is CPQ usage common in most companies?
CPQ software is more commonly used in larger businesses that offer customizable products and services. For example, global enterprises with hundreds of branches can efficiently send out accurate pricing data to each store without the need to manually calculate different factors, such as the country’s GDP, competitor’s price, and special promotions. Implementing a proper CPQ software can also help send out accurate quotes to clients in the event of call off for framework agreement and during the negotiation phase of the contract lifecycle.
Examples of CPQ tools
The CPQ software market is continuously blooming with the addition of new competitors every year. Among the available CPQ solution providers, Apttus and Salesforce CPQ take the top spots when it comes to popularity and consumer ratings. Other leading CPQ softwares include IBM CPQ, Infor CPQ, and Oracle CPQ Cloud.
More on this topic: How are procurement lifecycle and contracts related?
What is a CLM tool?
A CLM tool automates and streamlines contract processes at key stages of the contract lifecycle. It helps strengthen operational, contractual and regulatory compliance of all parties involved in an agreement. CLM tools help businesses create contracts quickly and easily using pre-approved templates and legal clauses.
What is the full form of CLM?
CLM stands for Contract Lifecycle Management. CLM refers to the process in which a contract is drafted, reviewed, signed, executed, and renewed/expired. In contract management, the lifecycle of a contract usually consists of seven essential phases, which includes the planning phase, implementation phase, pre-contract phase, handover phase, contract phase, pre-renewal phase, and post contract phase. Implementing a proper CLM system can streamline the different phases for smoother and easier business deals.
Is CLM usage common in most companies?
While smaller businesses can survive using manual contract management systems, larger enterprises need to have a proper CLM system in place to be successful. CLM softwares can help in various stages of the contract lifecycle. Most companies opt for CLM tools that offer end-to-end solutions while others choose software that are more in line with their business needs.
Examples of CLM tools
CLM softwares that offer end-to-end solutions are abundant in the market. However, there is no need for an end-to-end CLM software if the business has a stable legal department and negotiating body with great contracting skills. One of the most essential responsibilities of a contract manager is to keep track of the contracts made by the company. As such, it is a must for any contract management team to have proper contract storing capabilities.
Manual filing and storing of contracts is good for smaller businesses, but larger enterprises handling multiple contracts every week should implement a centralized database of all the document trails of contracts. Zendoc can greatly help in this regard.
Equipped with a powerful AI system, Zendoc can search all legal documents in the business’ email and cloud, then import them all in one platform. Imported documents are given actionable tags for easy sorting and organization. Smart alerts and notifications can also be set to make the company up to date about the important milestones in the contract lifecycle, including renewal dates, finished terms, and new contract versions.
More on this topic: Why would companies use contract management?
Should I combine CPQ and CLM?
CPQ and CLM softwares are powerful standalone systems that can help businesses achieve more efficiency and better performance. Integrating CLM with CPQ can boost the contract and sales efficiency of a business to greater heights. CPQ softwares can send accurate quotes to the other party to start off the negotiation process. The quotes provided by the CPQ are not yet final. CLM allows both parties to digitally collaborate through secure access while keeping track of all the changes made by redlining.
Combining CPQ and CLM is not only beneficial in the pre-contract and negotiation phases. CLM and CPQ systems create a powerful synergy that can help in making contract review and approval faster through e-signatures and centralized document repository. CLM can also boost the CPQ system’s ability to send out accurate quotes and pricing through automated generation and sending of invoices.
More on this topic: What are the best contract management software for 2021?
About Zendoc
Zendoc is a full-service AI-powered document automation system that not only organizes all of your agreements into a single database but keeps you up-to-date on what you need to do to extract as much value from your documents as possible. You don’t have to worry about forgetting your obligations because you don’t have to remember them in the first place.